“Oh cool.”
“It’s definitely an experience. I do love it though.”
Corie zipped up her own hoodie, then took Vega’s hand. “Uh. So I guess I owe you two an apology?”
“For what?”
“You guess?” Lily-Grace and Jesse said at once.
“For the other day out at the pool. I thought you two were just playing hide the pickle or whatever. I didn’t know you were feeling each other like that. Lily-Grace, I just met you, so I shouldn’t be fucking with you like that.”
“Can you fight?” Lily-Grace joked, kinda.
“Oh, it’s like that?”
“Yeah, it’s like that. I just wanna know.”
“Can you—actually, I know you can. If you’re fucking with this one.” Corie nodded in Jesse’s direction. “Anyway, I’ll get to know you and then I can get back to clowning you both, on an appropriate level.”
“You could learn how to cook too,” Jesse suggested.
“Man, nah. I drive, run errands, and make sure your grandmother isn’t on the Internet doing wild shit. The least this family can do is feed me.”
“Corie, we pay you.”
“Yeah, whatever. When are your brothers and wives coming back?”
“Sam and Amanda are back this weekend. Amanda wants to take Bam Bam out. I think Zach will be back on Thursday and Evie will be back on Sunday.”
“Okay. Well, leave a sock on the front door.”
“Or you could just text me before you come over. Or knock. I thought we went over this. Half the family stopped talking to me because I didn’t knock first.”
“We’ll knock,” Vega said. “Lily-Grace, always a pleasure. Night, Jess.” Corie rolled her eyes but let Vega pull her toward the front door. Lily-Grace and Jesse both waited until they heard it close.
“I’m trying to picture you in a fight,” Jesse suddenly said.
“I’ve only fought dudes. Some guy called me the N-word in college and I milly-rocked his ass to the Stone Age. And then I had to fight a guy at my friend’s bachelorette party. It wasn’t cute but I definitely won,” she said with a shrug. She didn’t like violence, but she wasn’t no punk either. “Anyway. That was nice of Corie to apologize.”
“Always feel free to tell her to shut up.”
“Thanks for the tip.” Lily-Grace laughed and then a heavy silence fell between them, the low hum of the dishwasher the only sound filling the room. She looked around the kitchen, which was now spotless. “I should probably go before I do something horny I can’t take back.”
Just one of Jesse’s eyebrows shot up. “Again, I think you’re taking my lack of experience for something else. I’m not scared.”
Suddenly, Lily-Grace’s face grew warm and her eyes started to sting. She realized what she was doing and she wasn’t proud of herself. This was a game she’d played with former lovers. A game she’d played with Dane, and she didn’t want that anymore. The seduction through not-so-subtle manipulation. It worked for the erotic power exchange, but Jesse hadn’t agreed to that. He’d agreed to honesty, earnest expressions of desire, and open communication. It was what she liked about him. She wasn’t going to scare him away, but if she kept on she was definitely going to fuck this up. She let out a shaky breath and tried to smile.
Jesse stepped forward and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder as he frowned down at her. “Hey, are you alright?”
Another shaky breath and this time the smile was real. “Yes, I’m fine. I’d like to stay over. We don’t have to have sex, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to touch you with your clothes off. I also fully understand if you want to be gentlemanly and send me home with a chaste kiss on the forehead. Or hell, even a handshake.”
His other hand went to her other shoulder, like he was gently trying to bring her back down to earth. She was the sexual goddess. He was the novice, and for some reasonshewas losing it.
“Why don’t you call or text your dad and tell him you’re spending the night out?”
“Are you sure? It is a Monday and a school night. I know how important a good night’s sleep is. Blowing it on Monday can throw off your whole week,” she said, like a moron who didn’t want to stay over when she absolutely did.
“I won’t let you throw off my routine.”
